At the same time, TVA is asking regulators to renew construction permits for two unfinished nuclear generators at the Bellafonte site near Scottsboro that it virtually abandoned 20 years ago.Alabama Power Co., meanwhile, is seeking the state Public Service Commission's approval for a 16 percent residential rate increase, effective Oct. 9. The utility says the price it pays for coal has risen 16 percent since 2007 and the price it pays for natural gas has zoomed up 46 percent.Alabama Power isn't looking to make a quick buck. It has a solid reputation as an honest, reliable firm. It was picked recently as J.D. Power and Associates' leading utility in the South.Given its rising costs, a major electric rate increase seems inevitable. At the same time, however, Alabama Power should follow TVA's lead and seek to expand its nuclear generating capacity.The Three Mile Island disaster gave nuclear energy a bad name. However, technology has improved dramatically since that 1979 event.U.S. Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, makes a strong case for expanding national nuclear generating capacity. If regulatory agencies could agree on one or two basic blueprints that would ensure a safe supply of nuclear energy, Bachus predicts that it could blossom as a major source for electrical generation.France has shown the way. The European nation uses nuclear plants to generate 76 percent of its energy. The plants are popular and efficient. They have provided jobs, help hold down costs and even given France an export commodity.There always will be a risk to nuclear generation. Yet it is an option this country has to reconsider in its quest for energy independence.

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